Shopping & Style

8 Things You Need For an Epic Summer

With Memorial Day in the not-so-distant past and Labor Day in the far-distant future, it’s just about the time of year when you start breaking out the white pants, firing up the grill and shedding any extra layers of clothing. Gear up for an epic summer with these essentials, brought to you by CBS Local’s Eat. See. Play.

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Whether you fill it with lemonade or a liberally spiked punch, the 1.5-gallon, vintage-looking Anchor Hocking glass beverage dispenser from Oneida will keep your favorite party drinks fresh and cool, no matter how high the temperature gets.

Patriotic without being ostentatious, these red, white and blue-striped Sergio Boardshorts from Billabong are ideal for any 4th of July pool parties on your heavily booked social calendar. They’re made with a quick-drying, 4-way stretch material, so you can hop in and out of the pool without ever getting water-logged.

It’s ok to act like a kid every once in a while, especially if the situation involves pool games. The Lighted Poolside Basketball Hoop from Hammacher Schlemmer is equipped with three LED lights, an impact-resistant backboard and a rust-proof, stainless steel frame, ensuring that you’ve always got game.

Ever wonder what kind of chicken comes pre-shredded, or what happened to pork to make it pulled? Ya, neither have we… Lift, carve and shred your own meats on the grill with the heat-resistant, multi-use Bear Paws.

Short rib sliders have replaced cheeseburgers, chickpea quinoa has replaced rice, and buffalo chicken egg rolls have replaced wings. With everything else getting fancier, hot dogs should no exception. Russell van Kraayenburg shows you how to crank up your franks with over 100 old-school, modern and internationally-inspired hot dog recipes from the Haute Dogs cookbook.

Call us stuck-up, but pouring hot coffee over ice does not an iced coffee make. No, summer’s most essential beverage should be cold-brewed and a little sweet, a combination Dave’s Coffee Syrup seems to have mastered. In with the cold, in with the brew.

No sunglass retailer today combines old-school style with new-school panache quite like Persol. Helping maintain that reputation is the 3056S, which provides a sleek but versatile look in three classic colors.